High dielectric constant insulators and associated fabrication methods

ABSTRACT

High-dielectric-constant (k) materials and electrical devices implementing the high-k materials are provided herein. According to some embodiments, an electrical device includes a substrate and a crystalline-oxide-containing composition. The crystalline-oxide-containing composition can be disposed on a surface of the substrate. Within the crystalline-oxide-containing composition, oxide anions can form at least one of a substantially linear orientation or a substantially planar orientation. A plurality of these substantially linear orientations of oxide anions or substantially planar orientations of oxide anions can be oriented substantially perpendicular or substantially normal to the surface of the substrate such that the oxide-containing composition has a dielectric constant greater than about 3.9 in a direction substantially normal to the surface of the substrate. Other embodiments are also claimed and described.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/763,284, filed 30 Jan. 2006, and entitled“High-K Gate Oxide Dielectrics Based on Nanostructured Layers,” which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forthbelow.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The various embodiments of the present invention relate generally todielectric materials, and more particularly, to devices comprisinghigh-dielectric-constant (k) materials, and to methods of making suchmaterials and devices.

BACKGROUND

Silicon dioxide (SiO₂) has been used as the primary gate-dielectricmaterial in field effect devices for almost 50 years. However, it isprojected, for example, that metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) fieldeffect transistors (FETs) will have gate lengths of less than about 10nanometers (nm) and will require equivalent oxide thicknesses of SiO₂ ofabout 0.5 nm or less than about 3 atomic layers. The minimum equivalentoxide thickness of SiO₂ has been estimated to be about 0.7 nm. Such thinoxide layers represent a fundamental challenge to the historic steadyreduction in integrated circuit sizes that have characterized the verysuccessful semiconductor industry. Specifically, at these smallthicknesses, the amount of current leakage, which is caused by directtunneling of charge carriers through the thin oxide layer, may be toohigh.

Since the capacitance of the oxide layer is proportional to thedielectric constant and inversely proportional to its thickness, using ahigher dielectric constant material allows a proportionally greaterthickness to be used. High dielectric-constant (high-k) materials, ormaterials having a dielectric constant greater than that of SiO₂ (i.e.,3.9), are clearly needed for silicon (Si) based MOS technologies sincethe above equivalent oxide thickness are too small to be practicallyimplemented with SiO₂. High-k insulators, or high-k dielectrics, areneeded to compensate for gate current increases that result from thescaling down of gate oxide thicknesses. Such dielectrics are even moreimportant for low-power circuits where gate leakage power consumptionrepresents a fundamental limitation.

One approach to implementing high-k dielectrics is to use oxides ofhafnium (e.g., HfO₂), tantalum (e.g., Ta₂O₅), lanthanum (e.g., La₂O₃),and zirconium (e.g., ZrO₂) or nitrides of hafnium (e.g., HfSiON) ortantalum (e.g., TaN). The dielectric constants of these amorphousmaterials are about 5 to about 20. These materials in their currentimplementation, however, have reliability issues associated with them.Specifically, charge trapping effects can cause transistor degradation,and channel carrier mobility and transconductance may be degraded.Stacks or laminates of these oxides may provide improved performance.However, since stacked layers may be represented as capacitors inseries, the equivalent oxide thickness will never be less than that ofthe lowest dielectric constant layer.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved high-k materials, high-kelectrical devices manufactured therefrom, and associated fabricationmethods that exhibit a suitably small effective oxide thickness as wellas good stability and reliability on the substrate. It is to theprovision of such materials, devices, and methods that the variousembodiments of the present invention are directed.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed tohigh-dielectric-constant (k) materials and electrical devicesimplementing the high-k materials. Some embodiments are also directed tomethods of making high-k materials and devices. When discussing thevarious embodiments of the present invention, reference is sometimesmade to high-dielectric-constant materials, high dielectric constantinsulating materials, high-k dielectrics, high-k insulators, and thelike. It should be noted that these terms are intended to be usedinterchangeably to generally refer to materials having a dielectricconstant greater than 3.9.

As discussed in more detail below, certain embodiments of the presentinvention can be implemented as field effect transistors (FETs), and inparticular metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs).The various embodiments of the present invention can be fabricated usingcertain physical process as well as chemical techniques.

Broadly described, an electrical device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention can include a substrate and acrystalline-oxide-containing composition. Thecrystalline-oxide-containing composition can be disposed on a surface ofthe substrate. Within the crystalline-oxide-containing composition,oxide anions can form at least one of a substantially linear orientationor a substantially planar orientation. A plurality of thesesubstantially linear orientations of oxide anions or substantiallyplanar orientations of oxide anions can be oriented substantiallyperpendicular or normal to the surface of the substrate such that theoxide-containing composition has a dielectric constant greater thanabout 3.9 in a direction substantially normal to the surface of thesubstrate. Other embodiments are also claimed and described.

A field effect transistor according to an embodiment of the presentinvention can include a source, a drain, a body, and a gate. The gateincludes a gate dielectric and a gate electrode that is disposed on thegate dielectric. The gate dielectric comprises acrystalline-oxide-containing composition, which is disposed on a surfaceof the body. Within the crystalline-oxide-containing composition of thegate dielectric, a plurality of lines of oxide anions, zigzagged linesof oxide anions, helices of oxide anions, planes of oxide anions,zigzagged planes of oxide anions, or a combination comprising at leastone of the foregoing, are oriented substantially normal to the surfaceof the body. The dielectric constant of the gate dielectric can begreater than about 3.9 in a direction substantially normal to thesurface of the body.

A method of fabricating an electrical device according to an embodimentof the present invention can include providing a substrate and disposinga crystalline-oxide-containing composition on a surface of thesubstrate. Disposing the crystalline-oxide-containing compositioncomprises disposing a plurality of lines of oxide anions, zigzaggedlines of oxide anions, helices of oxide anions, planes of oxide anions,zigzagged planes of oxide anions, or a combination comprising at leastone of the foregoing, substantially normal to the surface of thesubstrate to provide a dielectric constant greater than about 3.9 in adirection substantially normal to the surface of the substrate.

Other aspects and features of embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates linear chains of oxide anions orientedperpendicular to the surface of the substrate according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a helical chain of oxide anionsoriented perpendicular to the surface of the substrate according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a plane of oxide anions orientedperpendicular to the surface of the substrate according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a transistor device according to someembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the figures, wherein like reference numerals representlike parts throughout the several views, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention will be described in detail. Throughout thisdescription, various components may be identified having specific valuesor parameters, however, these items are provided as exemplaryembodiments. Indeed, the exemplary embodiments do not limit the variousaspects and concepts of the present invention as many comparableparameters, sizes, ranges, and/or values may be implemented. The terms“first,” “second,” and the like, “primary,” “secondary,” and the like,do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used todistinguish one element from another. Further, the terms “a”, “an”, and“the” do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote thepresence of “at least one” of the referenced item.

The various embodiments of the present invention provide improved high-kmaterials, high-k electrical devices, and associated material and devicefabrication methods. The electrical devices incorporate a novel approachto producing high-k dielectric materials. Whereas other high-k gatedielectrics have been based primarily on the dielectric's composition,the structures and devices of the embodiments of the present inventionare based on the orientation and position/density of oxygen anionswithin the dielectric material.

Generally, the dielectric constant of a material depends on themagnitude of the electric polarization that is induced within thedielectric material. This induced polarization depends, in turn, on thelocal electric field within the material. The local electric field isthe sum of the external applied electric field and the localizedelectric field due to any induced dipoles. The induced field is stronglydependent on the atomic environment in the material (i.e., the relativepositions of the atoms in the layer). A single structure can give riseto induced fields that are strongly polarizing (e.g., to produce ahigh-k dielectric) or can give rise to induced fields that are stronglydepolarizing (e.g., to produce a dielectric with a lower dielectricconstant). Thus, the structure can have anisotropic dielectricproperties.

For oxide anions, the highest dielectric constant will occur for alinear “chain” of oxide anions with the electric field being appliedalong the line of the oxide anions. A high dielectric constant layer canbe produced by positioning the oxide anions in non-interacting (i.e.,sufficiently separated) linear chains perpendicular to the surface of asubstrate. This is illustrated in FIG. 1. In this example, the highestpossible dielectric constant is achieved for a field appliedperpendicular to the substrate, such as in the case of a gate of atransistor. Other orientations of oxide anions can result in a materialhaving a high dielectric constant in a direction parallel to that of theelectric field. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a helix of oxide anionsand FIG. 3 illustrates planes of oxide anions.

An exemplary electrical device according to the present inventioncomprises a substrate and an oxide-containing composition. Theoxide-containing composition can be disposed on a surface of thesubstrate. Within the oxide-containing composition, oxide anions canform at least one of a substantially linear orientation or asubstantially planar orientation. As used herein, the phrase“substantially linear orientations” is intended to include, but not belimited to, linear chains of oxide anions, zigzagged chains or lines ofoxide anions, helices of oxide anions, and the like. Also, as usedherein, the phrase “substantially planar orientations” is intended toinclude, but not be limited to, planes of oxide anions, zigzagged planesof oxide anions, and the like. A plurality of these substantially linearorientations of oxide anions or substantially planar orientations ofoxide anions can be oriented substantially perpendicular (or normal) tothe surface of the substrate such that the oxide-containing compositionhas a dielectric constant greater than about 3.9 in a directionsubstantially normal to the surface of the substrate. As used herein,the terms “substantially perpendicular” or “substantially normal”include variations from 90 degrees of up to about 10 degrees.Preferably, these deviations from 90 degrees are less than or equal toabout 5 degrees.

The dielectric material is crystalline, at least on the nanometer scale,and can exhibit long range order on the micrometer, or greater, scale.Accordingly, the oxide containing composition is disposed on the surfaceof the substrate in the form of a plurality of crystallites (i.e.,polycrystalline) or as a single crystal. The nanometer scale, or larger,crystallites of the oxide-containing composition are arranged on thesurface of the substrate to effect the desired orientation of oxideanions normal to the surface of the substrate. The arrangement of theoxide-containing composition can be controlled by an appropriatefabrication technique.

The oxide anions, which are in the desired geometry (e.g., line,zigzagged line, helix, plane, zigzagged plane, or the like), interactstrongly with neighboring oxide anions within the same given geometry,but only weakly with oxide anions from other particular geometries(i.e., another line, zigzagged line, helix, plane, or the like),provided that there is sufficient separation between the differentgeometrical orientations of oxide anions. Since the electric field of aninduced dipole varies inversely proportional to the cube of the distancefrom the dipole, it follows that nearby oxide anions can be stronglyinteracting and those oxide anions only slightly farther away can beweakly interacting. Thus, small changes in atomic positions can producelarge changes in the dielectric constant. By way of example, the oxideanions within one line of oxide anions dielectrically interact stronglywith neighboring oxides within the same line, but only weakly with theoxide anions in another line or within a different oxide anion geometrywithin the oxide-containing composition. Thus, for electric fields thatare normal or substantially normal to the surface of the substrate, theoxide-containing composition operates as a high-k insulator. In oneembodiment, the oxide-containing composition has a dielectric constantgreater than or equal to about 50 in a direction substantially normal tothe surface of the substrate. In another embodiment, theoxide-containing composition has a dielectric constant greater than orequal to about 100 in a direction substantially normal to the surface ofthe substrate.

Oxide anions, in crystalline solids, are generally arranged at thecorners of an octahedron or tetrahedron with a metal cation at thecenter. An octahedron can interact with another octahedron, or atetrahedron, by sharing a corner, an edge, or a three-sided face.Similarly, a tetrahedron can interact with another tetrahedron, or anoctahedron, by sharing a corner, an edge, or a three-sided face. Theinteractions between the polyhedra are dictated, in part, by theparticular metal ion in the center of the polyhedron as well as anyother components of the composition of the solid (e.g., substituents inthe polyhedron, ions in the vicinity of the octahedron, ion vacancies,dopants, and the like). Based on these interactions between polyhedra,and/or other components of the composition of the solid, there can be adistortion of one or more of the dimensions of a polyhedron. There canalso be a distortion in the arrangement of the polyhedra with respect toeach other, such that certain polyhedra are canted or skewed towards oneanother. The unit cell for a particular crystal structure andcomposition will include each of these distortions. Thus, eachcrystallite, which comprises a plurality of three-dimensionally arrangedunit cells, will have very specific, periodic, and regular arrangementsof oxide anions. Taking advantage of these geometric arrangements andthe inverse cube interaction of oxide anions within the crystallite, andproperly orienting the individual crystallite(s) on the surface of thesubstrate allows the formation of the high-k materials and devicesaccording to some embodiments of the present invention.

By way of example, if two of the axes of an octahedron are expanded andthe third is compressed, such as is shown in FIG. 1, and a plurality ofcorner-sharing octahedra of this type are stacked along the compressedaxis, the distance between the compressed oxide anions is sufficient forthem to interact strongly dielectrically. This two-dimensionalinteraction generally results in a linear chain of oxide anions. Theoxide anions of each of the elongated axes also strongly interact withoxide anions of elongated axes other octahedra stacked above and belowthem to form their own lines of oxide anions. These lines of oxideanions are too far from the oxide anions of the line of the compressedaxis to act in a depolarizing manner. Therefore, a plurality of parallellines of oxide anions is formed.

If, for example, another ion were repeatedly placed in one or more ofthe gaps between the corner-sharing octahedra, there could be enough ofan electrostatic repulsion between the octahedra and the other ion toskew the octahedra. Thus, instead of linear chains of oxide anions,there would be “kinks” in each line such as to form zigzagged lines ofoxide anions. Another way of generating zigzagged lines of oxide anionswould be to substitute one of the oxide anions in each octahedron withanother anion, which could allow the same coordination geometry (e.g.,sulfur) or require a different coordination geometry (e.g., nitrogen),so as to provide different electrostatic interactions between octahedra.In this case, substitution of the oxide anion(s) with another anion(s)would change the overall number of zigzagged chains of oxide anions aswell.

By way of another example, if only one of the axes of an octahedron areexpanded and the other two are compressed, such as is shown in FIG. 3,and a plurality of corner-sharing octahedra of this type are stackedalong one of the compressed axes, the distance between the fourcompressed oxide anions is sufficient for them to strongly interactdielectrically. This two-dimensional interaction actually results in aplane of polarizing oxide anions. The oxide anions of the elongated axesmay or may not also strongly interact with oxide anions of elongatedaxes other octahedra stacked above and below them to form their ownplanes of oxide anions. These planes of oxide anions are too far fromthe oxide anions of the planes of the compressed axes to interact in adepolarizing manner. Therefore, a plurality of parallel planes of oxideanions is formed. Alternatively, planes of oxide anions are also createdif a plurality of these octahedra interacts in an edge-sharing manner.

Similarly, if another ion were repeatedly placed in one or more of thegaps between the edge-sharing octahedra, there could be enough of anelectrostatic repulsion between the octahedra and the other ion to skewthe octahedra. Thus, instead of planar chains of oxide anions, therewould be “kinks” in each plane such as to form zigzagged planes of oxideanions. Analogously, another way of generating zigzagged planes of oxideanions would be to substitute one of the non-edge shared oxide anions ineach octahedron with another anion, which could allow the samecoordination geometry (e.g., sulfur) or require a different coordinationgeometry (e.g., nitrogen), so as to provide different electrostaticinteractions between octahedra. In this case, however, substitution ofthe oxide anion(s) with another anion(s) could, but would notnecessarily, change the overall number of zigzagged planes of oxideanions too.

The threshold distance between oxide anions, or between closest pointsof geometric arrangements of oxide anions, over which they would nolonger be interacting to have a depolarizing effect depends on theparticular geometric arrangement of oxide anions.

The cations of the oxide-containing compositions can include lithium,magnesium, silicon, lead, niobium, titanium, strontium, sodiumzirconium, lanthanum, hafnium, barium, yttrium, scandium, iodine,calcium, or the like, or a combination comprising at least one of theforegoing (e.g., barium and titanium, strontium and titanium, lithiumand iodine, and the like). Additional anions that can be present in theoxide-containing composition include, sulfur, nitrogen, iodine, or thelike, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.Additionally, if desired, dopants may be incorporated into theoxide-containing composition to provide it with a positive polarity(p-type) or negative polarity (n-type). The elemental composition shouldbe chosen to optimize the dielectric constant and the electron tunnelingcharacteristics of the resulting high-k dielectric structure for desiredperformance characteristics.

Specific oxide-containing compositions that can be implemented in thedevices of the present invention (i.e., with the desired oxide aniongeometries) include lithium niobate, lithium iodate, hafnium oxide,hafnium silicon oxide, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum aluminum oxide,zirconium oxide, zirconium silicon oxide, tantalum oxide, bariumstrontium titanate, barium strontium niobate, barium titanate, strontiumtitanate, yttrium oxide, aluminum oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide,barium sodium niobate, or lead zinc niobate. Exemplary oxide-containingcompositions include LiNbO₃, BaTi₂O₅, Ca_(0.25)Ba_(0.75)Nb₂O₆, LiIO₃,Ba₂NaNb₅O₁₅, SrTiO₃, BaTiO₃, and Ba_(0.25)Sr_(0.75)Nb₂O₆.

For example, lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) is characterized by containingperiodic planar hexagonal layers of oxide anions. For an electric fieldapplied parallel to one plane, the dielectric constant is about 78. Thedielectric constant would be significantly lower for a field appliedperpendicular to the plane. However, if oriented properly such that itapproximates a plurality of chains parallel to the electric field, itcould have a dielectric constant of about 104.

There are many possible fabrication methods that can be usedindividually or in combination to produce the disclosed structures.Fabrication methods include both chemical and physical processes. Anon-exhaustive list of processes includes chemical vapor deposition(CVD), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), combustionchemical vapor deposition, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), radio frequencysputtering, magnetron sputtering, electron beam bombardment,electrostatic deposition, floating zone crystal growth, atomic layerdeposition, self-assembly methods, and the like. Various processingsteps may be utilized before deposition, during deposition, orpost-deposition, such as sintering, electric field poling, applicationof pressure, masking, templating, annealing, ozone treatment, iondiffusion, and the like. Each of the foregoing techniques is known tothose skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

The substrate, which can comprise any semiconducting material (e.g.,silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, or the like), can undergo amechanical treatment such that the surface has a particularcrystallographic plane (represented by Miller indices). By providing thesurface of the substrate with a specific crystallographic plane, growthof the oxide-containing composition with the desired atomic arrangementcan be facilitated. Furthermore, the oxide-containing layer can be grownepitaxially on the surface of the substrate.

It should be noted that any of these fabrication processes or processingsteps can be carried out in the presence of an electric and/or magneticfield in order to facilitate orienting the oxide-containing compositionon the surface of the substrate as desired.

As stated above, the oxide-containing composition is disposed on thesurface of the substrate in the form of a plurality of crystallites(i.e., polycrystalline) or as a single crystal. If the oxide-containingcomposition is polycrystalline, each grain of thepolycrystalline-oxide-containing composition will comprise a pluralityof lines of oxide anions, zigzagged lines of oxide anions, helices ofoxide anions, planes of oxide anions, zigzagged planes of oxide anions,or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing. In anexemplary embodiment, the geometric arrangement of the oxide anions forevery grain or crystallite is substantially normal to the surface of thesubstrate.

The overall thickness of the oxide-containing composition can be largerthan that seen in conventional electronic devices owing to its highdielectric constant. However, the overall thickness of the high-koxide-containing composition is desirably about 1 nm to about 100 nm.More specifically, the overall thickness of the high-k oxide-containingcomposition is about 1 nm to about 10 nm.

The electrical device including the substrate and the high-k oxidecontaining composition can be implemented in a field effect transistor(FET) to control the shape and conductivity of the channel in asemiconductor. An exemplary FET is shown in FIG. 4 and generallyindicated by 100. The FET 100 includes a source 102, a drain 104, a gate106, and a body 108. The gate 106 includes a gate dielectric 110, whichis the high-k oxide-containing composition described above. Thesubstrate for the high-k oxide-containing composition is the body 108 ofthe FET 100. The gate 106 further includes a gate electrode 112 disposedon the gate dielectric 110. The gate may include optional barrier orbuffer layers 114 and 116 disposed between the gate dielectric 110 andthe gate electrode 112 and between the gate dielectric 110 and the body108, respectively. If the gate electrode 112 is a metal, then the FET100 is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).

The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to theparticular formulations, process steps, and materials disclosed hereinas such formulations, process steps, and materials may vary somewhat.Moreover, the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose ofdescribing exemplary embodiments only and the terminology is notintended to be limiting since the scope of the various embodiments ofthe present invention will be limited only by the appended claims andequivalents thereof. For example, temperature and pressure parametersmay vary depending on the particular materials used.

Therefore, while embodiments of this disclosure have been described indetail with particular reference to exemplary embodiments, those skilledin the art will understand that variations and modifications can beeffected within the scope of the disclosure as defined in the appendedclaims. Accordingly, the scope of the various embodiments of the presentinvention should not be limited to the above discussed embodiments, andshould only be defined by the following claims and all equivalents.

1. An electrical device, comprising: a crystalline-oxide-containingcomposition disposed on a surface of a substrate, thecrystalline-oxide-containing composition comprising a plurality ofsubstantially linear orientations of oxide anions, substantially planarorientations of oxide anions that are substantially normal to thesurface of the substrate, the crystalline-oxide-containing compositionhaving a dielectric constant greater than about 3.9 in a directionsubstantially normal to the surface of the substrate.
 2. The electricaldevice of claim 1, wherein the plurality of substantially linearorientations of oxide anions or substantially planar orientations ofoxide anions comprises a plurality of lines of oxide anions, zigzaggedlines of oxide anions, helices of oxide anions, planes of oxide anions,or zigzagged planes of oxide anions.
 3. The electrical device of claim1, wherein the each one of the plurality of substantially linearorientations of oxide anions or substantially planar orientations ofoxide anions do not substantially interact with another one of theplurality of substantially linear orientations of oxide anions orsubstantially planar orientations of oxide anions to increase thedielectric constant of the crystalline-oxide-containing composition in adirection substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate.
 4. Theelectrical device of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises asemiconductor.
 5. The electrical device of claim 1, wherein theoxide-containing composition comprises lithium niobate, lithium iodate,hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon oxide, lanthanum oxide, lanthanumaluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, zirconium silicon oxide, tantalumoxide, barium strontium titanate, barium strontium niobate, bariumtitanate, strontium titanate, yttrium oxide, aluminum oxide, leadscandium tantalum oxide, barium sodium niobate, lead zinc niobate, or acombination comprising at least one of the foregoing.
 6. The electricaldevice of claim 1, wherein the oxide-containing composition is a singlecrystal.
 7. The electrical device of claim 1, wherein theoxide-containing composition is polycrystalline, and each crystallite ofthe polycrystalline-oxide-containing composition comprises the pluralityof oxide anions arranged in at least one of the substantially linear orsubstantially planar orientations that are oriented substantially normalto the surface of the substrate.
 8. The electrical device of claim 1,wherein the dielectric constant is greater than or equal to about 50 inthe direction substantially normal to the surface of the substrate. 9.The electrical device of claim 1, wherein the dielectric constant isgreater than or equal to about 100 in the direction substantially normalto the surface of the substrate.
 10. The electrical device of claim 1,wherein the overall thickness of the oxide-containing composition isabout 1 nanometer to about 100 nanometers.
 11. The electrical device ofclaim 1, further comprising a barrier layer disposed between thecrystalline-oxide-containing composition and the substrate.
 12. A fieldeffect transistor, comprising: a source; a drain; a body; and a gatecomprising a gate dielectric and a gate electrode disposed on the gatedielectric, the gate dielectric comprising acrystalline-oxide-containing composition disposed on a surface of thebody, wherein a plurality of lines of oxide anions, zigzagged lines ofoxide anions, helices of oxide anions, planes of oxide anions, zigzaggedplanes of oxide anions, or a combination comprising at least one of theforegoing, are oriented substantially normal to the surface of the bodyto provide a dielectric constant greater than about 3.9 in a directionsubstantially normal to the surface of the body.
 13. The field effecttransistor of claim 12, further comprising a barrier layer disposedbetween the gate dielectric and the gate electrode.
 14. The field effecttransistor of claim 12, further comprising a barrier layer disposedbetween the gate dielectric and the body.
 15. The field effecttransistor of claim 12, wherein the gate electrode is a metal, and thefield effect transistor is a metal oxide semiconductor field effecttransistor.
 16. The field effect transistor of claim 12, wherein theoxide-containing composition of the gate dielectric comprises lithiumniobate, lithium iodate, hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon oxide, lanthanumoxide, lanthanum aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, zirconium siliconoxide, tantalum oxide, barium strontium titanate, barium strontiumniobate, barium titanate, strontium titanate, yttrium oxide, aluminumoxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, barium sodium niobate, lead zincniobate, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing. 17.The field effect transistor of claim 12, wherein the dielectric constantof the gate dielectric is greater than or equal to about 50 in thedirection substantially normal to the surface of the body.
 18. The fieldeffect transistor of claim 12, wherein the dielectric constant of thegate dielectric is greater than or equal to about 100 in the directionsubstantially normal to the surface of the body.
 19. A method offabricating an electrical device, the method comprising: providing asubstrate; disposing a crystalline-oxide-containing composition on asurface of the substrate, wherein a plurality of lines of oxide anions,zigzagged lines of oxide anions, helices of oxide anions, planes ofoxide anions, zigzagged planes of oxide anions, or a combinationcomprising at least one of the foregoing, are oriented substantiallynormal to the surface of the substrate to provide a dielectric constantgreater than about 3.9 in a direction substantially normal to thesurface of the substrate.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein disposingthe crystalline-oxide-containing composition on the surface of thesubstrate comprises at least one of chemical vapor deposition, metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, combustion chemical vapor deposition,molecular beam epitaxy, radio frequency sputtering, magnetronsputtering, electron beam bombardment, electrostatic deposition,floating zone crystal growth, atomic layer deposition, or self-assembly.